HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive

This week on HeightsCast, Dr. Lionel Yaceczko discusses the study of Latin as the best way to develop our students' "grindstone skills": the abilities to "think" and "communicate," which will allow them to both thrive in a constantly evolving job market, and to engage the greatest minds of their tradition.

Every year, bishops around the country visit their flocks to offer the sacrament of Confirmation to young people. In this episode, Mr. Jeff Thompson shares how he, as a middle school religion teacher, teaches the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit to his middle school students, making them come alive in the hearts and souls of his boys.

In this episode, Head of Mentoring, Joe Cardenas, explains the importance of training the emotions of our aspiring "men fully alive." Often we see education as a matter of the head; but as teachers, we must be just as concerned with forming the heart.

We base much of this interview on this article from OpusDei.org.

Contemporary children's literature often celebrates children lying or worse to accomplish "good" ends. As parents of avid readers, we must be aware. Joe Breslin and Tom Cox take on perennial favorite, Harry Potter, which offers, as one of its many strengths, gripping portrayals of flawed heroes.

This week on Heightscast, an interview with Head of Upper School, Michael Moynihan, on his new book, Decisive Parenting.

For more information or to purchase Michael's book, click here.

Heights Teacher and Mentor, Alex Berthe, discusses the importance of proper praise in the moral development of boys. Our culture tends towards two extremes: we are either overly critical, or excessively flattering. Alex helps us walk the mean as we guide our sons to a solid confidence in our love for them, and in their rock solid understanding of their identity as sons of God.

As a community of believing parents and teachers, passing the Faith on to our sons' is mission essential. Heights Headmaster, Alvaro de Vicente, discusses how parents and teachers can model, explain, facilitate, and support the faith of our fathers in the next generation.

Join two Freshman Core teachers, Gerard Babendreier and Joe Cardenas, for a discussion about how high schoolers should approach their study. To simply call this homework is an unfortunate oversimplification.

David Maxham explores the role of Mathematics in a Liberal Arts education. Contrary to popular perception, the Liberal Arts include a robust commitment not only to mathematics, but to a mathematical way of thinking. We don't achieve this for our students, however, simply by slogging through the usual progression of math courses. The mathematical art of liberty must be nurtured, and Dave offers some thoughts on what that looks like here.

For Part 1, click here.

As boys grow into men they grapple with important questions: "who am I?"; "why am I here?"; "what is my purpose?" Mr. de Vicente takes on the question of persona and identity in the next two episodes of HeightsCast, addressing how we, as parents and teachers, can help our boys develop a healthy sense of self through an ordered process of reflection.